


At the Darkest Hour

by RobespierreforFrance



Series: Non!Gryffindor Harry [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: "Dark Harry", Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Harry Potter AU, Harry Potter Fix it, Intelligent Harry, Not entirely sure yet, Other, Slight Dumbledore Bashing, Slytherin Harry, This was on a whim, i guess, relationships tbd - Freeform, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-25
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2018-08-24 13:22:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 21,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8373766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobespierreforFrance/pseuds/RobespierreforFrance
Summary: Harry Potter already has enough to deal with being raised with muggles that hate him, so when he gets the chance to go to Hogwarts, he really does his best to avoid all the trouble heading his way....What he didn't know was that trouble finds him and the friends he denies are his are possibly the best things to ever happen to him, even if they are a little nosey sometimes.





	1. Hour 1: Sorting

 

 

 

" **SLYTHERIN** **!** " bellowed the hat. It echoed around the large hall and those that wore the brilliant green and silver robes politely clapped as the First Year walked down the dais steps towards the table on the far left. The other houses, mostly those garbed in yellows or in blues, clapped as well. Those dressed with bright crimson either huffed silently or had been staring off into space for the past ten minutes.

The was enough to gather what little information I was offered today on the different aspects on houses. Throughout the entire train ride and what little I've seen of the sorting, there were a few peculiar things that caught my attention. Those in red, Gryffindors from my guessing, were only as rowdy whenever someone joined their ranks, but were well mannered and gave respectful applause to those other than the those in emerald green. But never did the two houses give an applause for the other, and instead huffed or stuck up their noses in retaliation to the other gaining another member among their ranks.

"Granger, Hermione," the professor, McGonagall if I remembered her name properly, called out. The bushy haired girl from the train shakily walked up the steps herself and plopped down on the stool, glancing up warily at the torn up hat that was placed upon her dark curls. They sat there for a while, like some others before her, before the Sorting Hat finally decided on the house she was to be placed in with a loud " **RAVENCLAW!** " which sent the girl rushing down to the table in blues and silver that sat rat next to the one in green. She would have gone down to the table with the Sorting Hat still placed upon her head if it wasn't for the stern professor grabbing onto the ratty tail end and tugging it back for the next First Year student. Everyone clapped, for it seemed the rivalry was only placed between Green and Red, rather than Blue and Yellow.

This was a pattern for the next students. An eleven year old would walk up, nervous, and the hat would be placed on their head. Depending on the kid, the Sorting Hat would take from only a few centimeters from touching the first hair to three minutes after putting the hat on for the second time just to be sure. Most went to Gryffindor or Hufflepuff before they reached the "G"s, where a Goyle, Gregory was the first Slytherin after a long line of other houses to be sorted for the left side of the hall. After that Slytherin popped up more. A Malfoy, Draco was the next after him, and then a Nott, Theodore.

Once they got to the letter "P", I prepared myself. I knew who I was, how important I was and will be once my name was called out. Only one who was silly enough to  _not_ open their text books before term wouldn't know. Of course, I didn't know myself, all things considered, until a few weeks before, but I still managed to figure out how important I was to the Wizarding Community. How those reacted at the sight of the flesh wound that had settled just above my brow for nearly all my life. If it wasn't for that, I would just be a normal wizard who probably still wouldn't have known about the magical world that lived just a few streets away from 4 Privet Drive.

After a while, I finally heard my name called from the witch. A loud and clear "Potter, Harry" was all it took to silence the entire hall and I had hundreds of eyes boring into my back as I walked up the dais steps. I didn't realize how rickety the stool was and nearly fell over once I sat down, but managed to catch myself as soon as the hat was settled onto my head. It flattened the messy dark curls just enough to cover parts of my vision.

_"Hmm, interesting, interesting,"_ I heard inside my head. It was a bit startling, to hear a voice that wasn't yours speaking to you. 

_"What seems to be so interesting?"_ I asked the hat.

_"I'm wondering where to place you, Mr. Potter,"_ it responded.  _"So many possibilities reside in you. Ravenclaw may be of your best interest. You seem to enjoy knowledge and how to use them, but you have no curiosities to drive you to truly think outside of that box. Gryffindor is another option for you as well. Lots of courage and the need to be worthy of those around you. But you don't see bravery to be the best of virtues to follow, I see... Hufflpuff would have been considered, if you felt that you needed to be loyal to those you deemed worthy of such. Only those that have been betrayed would feel such a thing, I see... So that leaves Slytherin, those who crave to follow their own set of rules, to analyse what is before them before acting so. You seem to have such qualities, but what's so interesting is your almost lack of ambition to do what you were born to be."_

_"I was born to be just Harry,"_ I retaliated. I remember a few wizards and witches whispering among themselves when Hagrid and I walked through Diagon Alley. Many mentioned that the "savior of the wizarding world had finally arrived" but I just want to be Harry. I'm only eleven and already they're hoping I'd defeat the Dark Lord before I'm thirteen.  _"Nothing more, nothing less. Just put me in a place where I can be Just Harry."_

_"Just Harry? Alright, I've decided,"_ the hat concluded, and I could hear the seems on the hat open and the Sorting Hat to finalize his decision.

" **SLYTHERIN!** "


	2. Hour 2: House of Snakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! RobespierreforFrance here! Just wanted to clear things up in case you were wondering anything:
> 
> Yes, I put Hermione in Ravenclaw. OMG such a cliche in a fanfic such as this. But this is an AU that has been done many times so I don't really care if it is right now. If anything, I'll hopefully pull a few of my own twists with her in later chapters.
> 
> Yes, there are people who aren't in their canon houses for the purpose of this fanfic. 
> 
> No, Harry isn't evil. He's just observant and his Slytherin traits are more prominent in this fanfic than in canon. I also intend to tweak a few things in his personality that I feel would benefit this story, so if you ever plan to comment, please don't mention that Harry is OOC. Of course he is, this is an alternate universe.
> 
> No, I won't make all Sytherin's happy-go-lucky people just because most of them are "good" in this fanfic. I'm trying to keep them to be close to their actual personalities, just misunderstood, if that makes sense. 
> 
> No, I haven't chosen if I want Harry to end up with anyone. I'm leaning towards M/M but I'm unsure of who I should pair him with. If you have any ideas, I'd LOVE to hear them, so don't be afraid to comment your ideas. If you have any questions, ask and I'll try to answer them without revealing too much in the next author's note, I promise!
> 
> No, there won't be Weasley Bashing and if there is, I either didn't mean to or it's going to be very slight and a little unimportant to the actual storyline.
> 
> I HOPE YOU ENJOY AND READ MORE IN THE FUTURE!
> 
> :)

 

 

The Slytherin table was truly an interesting bunch once they got over the shock of receiving " _the_ Harry Potter" for their house. Also, the thought of " _the_ Harry Potter" going into the house filled with evil must have been shocking for everyone as well. But those that were quick to compose themselves were certainly on my good list tonight. They had politely clapped while the Slytherins quickly followed in their own way of enthusiasm -- which wasn't really that much better but some had what appeared to be grimaced smiles of pleasure.

Sitting down with the rest of the First Years, I continued to watch the rest of the Sorting until "Zabini, Blaise" was Sorted into Slytherin. Once he sat down, the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, had slowly stood up from his grand seat in the middle of the High Table and shuffled over to the golden owl podium. I recognized him immediately from the Chocolate Frog card I received on the train, though his beard looked much longer than in the rather mysterious picture, tucked a bit into the belt of his light blue robes. His eyes, from what I could tell, sparkled with a sense of mischievous behind half-moon glasses that I've never seen before on a person of his stature. The entire hall hushed to silence once the wizard rose his arms. 

"Welcome!" Dumbledore said, his voice echoing just as much as the Sorting Hat's, though not as sharp. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin a banquet, I would like to say a few words." He paused, settling his hands onto the podium before him. "And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you." 

And then he shuffled back over to his seat. I rose a brow. I had hoped to see a grand speech about how he was happy to see so many familiar faces back to school or something of the like. But considering the speech he made before the sorting....

 

_(())_

_"I have a few start of term notices I wish to announce," the old wizard said after Professor McGonagall called them all to attention. Professor Dumbledore stayed behind the table. "The First Years please note that the dark forest is strictly forbidden to all students. Also, our caretaker, Mr. Filch " - he gestured to the grumpy man that was holding the rather temperamental feline - "has asked me to remind you that the third floor corridor on the right side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death. Thank you."_

_And then the Headmaster sits back down. All the First Years look to each other, confused and some quite fearful. I stand back, continuing to stare at the man before my focus was returned to Professor McGonagall, who held a ratty old hat that looked like it was on it's last few days._

_(())_

 

Food began to appear once Professor Dumbledore settled into his seat and everyone began to dig in. I grabbed a few pieces of chicken and a spoonful of mashed potatoes onto my plate before any could run out. It wasn't much, but it was enough to satisfy my stomach which was still filled with the many pastries I ate on the way over. I had a few leftover Chocolate Frogs sitting in the pockets of my robes, for a midnight snack if I grew a bit hungry later. To be truthfully honest, I wasn't sure if the school would be able to feed an entirety of what I guess to be hundreds of students, but I must have guessed wrong.

I poured myself a glass of what looked to be tomato soup, though a few of the older kids mentioned that it was pumpkin juice, and I surveyed the other First Years. There was the girl that was sorted into Slytherin before me, Pansy Parkinson. She was talking rather loudly to another girl with rather bright blonde hair. I couldn't remember her name, but I swear there was a color involved somewhere. Then there was the last Slytherin to be sorted, Blaise Zabini. He was chumming it up with the blonde from the robes shop in Diagon Alley, Draco Malfoy apparently, and two other boys who looked like they could have been related if it wasn't for the fact that one was a bit more round in the face compared to the other. There was a quiet boy sitting at the end of the table, eating while looking down at the table, with a rather large girl with mousy brown hair. A few more faces were among them, but I believed that they were very young looking Second or Third Years. 

"So we finally get to match a face to the name of the famous Harry Potter," an older student commented. He was sitting across from me, arms crossed and resting on the table. He smirked, showing crooked teeth which didn't help with the rather mean look he seemed to always be giving off with his eyebrows, which almost looked ready to fold over his eyes entirely.

"It's Just Harry," I retorted. 

"What do you mean? Think you're better than everyone else because you're famous?" the boy asked, looking insulted. I frowned, confused. I shook my head.

"No. I just want to be Harry. Just Harry. I don't want to be famous. So please, just call me Harry. I see no profit to being famous," I answered as simply as I could, hoping no more questions would pop up because of it. My hope was crushed.

"What do you mean you don't wanna be famous?" Pansy suddenly asked, the conversation catching her attention. Her voice was higher than I realized, louder too, and it made others look towards me. Unwanted attention.

"I just don't. I don't see what's so special about the fact that I survived some stupid curse, anyone could do it, I'm sure," I answered, my voice small. Many seemed to freeze and looked at me as if I grew two small heads on each shoulder by accident.

"You survived a curse from the Dark Lord!" Pansy nearly shrieked. She was shushed by an older student, who had a peculiar badge upon her chest. "Not just anyone could do it! And you were a baby so that makes you all the more popular and famous!" This time, her response was much quieter, but many at the table still heard.

"So?"

"So?!" Malfoy interjected. He now seemed interested into conversing with those around him other than Zabini and the other two besides him. "Just imagine, by using that sort of power, you could get anything you wanted! Heck, you could even try getting to be the Minister of Magic if you just asked! My father says that Fudge is easy to pushover so I doubt he'd put up much of a fight if you just went up to him and said you wanted his position. Might even become your personal slave if you wanted!"

"I still don't see your point."

"Well we don't see yours," an older student commented.

"I don't want fame," I said again. "I just want to be left alone to my own devices. It's what I've always wanted to do. No chores, not having any adults breathing down my neck to do everything, and definitely no saving anything at the age eleven." I sighed. "I've read that so many people want me to save the world by the time I'm practically fourteen. I don't want to do that. To be the famous Harry Potter that everyone dreams about. But I want to be Just Harry. I just want to be considered normal."

"You're a strange one," the kid across from me finalized. I didn't say anything after that and no one brought it up either. Everyone continued to eat like the conversation never happened, though occasionally someone may ask a question to one of us, glancing over at me when something was brought up that may have been related to myself or whoever was related to me.

Professor Dumbledore stood up once more, saying something about a school song that I didn't know the words to. The song was terribly done and I wondered why he made everyone sing at a different pace and different tune if it didn't sound like a normal school song. Two twin redheads were the last ones to stop singing, a dreadful funeral march that made many quirk a smile at their antics, and soon we were all dismissed. 

Two students had gathered all of us into a group and lead us down through many hallways and stairs until we reached a blank stone wall that had torches aligned along the length on both sides of the hallway. The two Prefects, which they explained to us on our way down here, stood next to each other, their backs facing the hard surface as their attention was set upon us.

"Now this is where you must pay absolute attention," Elizabeth Poole, the Fifth Year Prefect, said. She placed her hands on her hips after tucking away a strand of hair. "Behind this wall is the Slytherin common room. If you hadn't figured that out by now, then I truly wonder how you got into this house in the first place. In any case, this wall will only open if you  _whisper_ " -she emphasized that word harshly and glared down at us as she did - "the password that will be changed every week. If you don't know, there will be a message put on the notice board inside that will have the password on for the entire week until around mid-October, when the time is shortened to the first three days."

James Barnes, the other Fifth Year, took over. "This weeks password is  _Domus Serpens_. So try and remember that as much as possible. If you're not sure, just ask someone from our house or our Head of House, Professor Snape. At that name, I was reminded of the rather grouchy looking Professor with the curtain of greasy hair that was talking with Professor Quirell. I remember snapping my hand to massage the sudden twinge of pain that sprouted from my head once we made eye contact during dinner. When I did so, the blonde girl, Daphne Greengrass as her name was, had noticed and questioned what was wrong. I merely stated that I had a headache and asked the name of the teacher, which one of the other students supplied immediately.

"There are three sets of Prefects in each house," Poole took over once again. "There are two in Fifth year, two in Sixth, and two in Seventh. Along with those Prefects are the Head Boy and Head Girl. You are to go to them or Professor Snape if something happens that concerns our house. Understood?" Many nods were given before Poole was satisfied and turned to nod towards her Prefect-Mate. Barnes nodded back and whispered the password to the wall. 

The bricks folded back, much like the passage into Diagon Alley, to form a perfect archway that lead deeper into the dungeons. Torches burned along the walls that allowed long shadows to pass over us as we all walked down to our new home for the next ten months. The stairway wasn't too long and soon we were in a magnificent and large room. A green filter seemed to appear over the atmosphere of the room, tinting everything slightly to appear as if we were underneath a lake. Which apparently we were, for there were grand windows that showed the Black Lake's murky water and the many unique fish that occasionally swam by. There were four large black couches that face in towards each other, a black mahogany table in the middle. Desks were pushed against the walls and already a few students were sitting with large books opened and quills scratching at parchments. More torches were lit, though instead of the crimson flame that usually licked along the walls, it was replaced with a vibrant fern green blaze. The carpet was a dark grey that had intricate patterns in pitch black that seemed to hypnotize anyone who lingered long enough to be enthralled with the design. Portraits, ones that seemed to move and look curiously down at us, were aligned along the walls, which were covered in a green wallpaper that was covered in snakes curling into and along one another. Two doorways stood opposite each other, which the Prefects pointed out that one lead to the boy's dorm and the other lead to the girl's.

"Normally, Professor Snape would be here to give all you First Years a speech that would show you how to be the Slytherins you're going to have to be," Barnes said, turning all the our attention towards him once again. "But he's busy tonight with other matters so another day he will give you a repeat on what we're going to say instead."

"To be a Slytherin, is to be proud with your heritage," Poole continued. "To be a Slytherin is to accept those in your house as brethren. To be a Slytherin is not purely based on the status of our blood -- though that could merely be an added bonus -- but on how you respect one another and show those that think we're full of nothing but no good snakes that we're mature, prideful, and we take only what we need, not what we want. To be a Slytherin is to show that you can overcome anything as long as it interests you, benefits you, and allows you to be who you are, rather than what you're forced to be."

"Many will say that what happens in Slytherin stays in Slytherin," Barnes said. "That is true, but that doesn't mean that nothing can't happen outside of Slytherin. We have a bad rep on being the house that no one wants to associate with and most of us are fine with that. If you aren't, that's fine. Show them, prove to them, that we're better in a way that proves that we're more capable in producing those that aren't always evil. If you end up in a fight, that's between you, the other kid, and the professor that catches them. In no way are you responsible in keeping up the act of being mightier than others."

"If anything, this is to show that you can be anything," Poole summarized. "Go after what you want, do what you want. Keep the pride of Slytherin in your hearts, minds, body and soul. Do not tarnish the Slytherin name any further than it already is. Make it better. Make Slytherin great again. Now go to bed," she finished. "It's past your curfew now."

Everyone groaned. Their speech, which seemed a bit rehearsed but was good no matter what, disappointed everyone. Even I was pumped up to be a Slytherin. Their words kept repeating in my head.

_"...to be proud with your heritage..."_

_"...take only what we need, not what we want..."_

_"....you can overcome anything as long as it interests you..."_

_"...allows you to be who you are, rather than what you're forced to be..."_

_"Make Slytherin great again."_


	3. Hour 3: Let's Begin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad for the positive response for this story so far. I'm sorry that I put such a long note at the beginning of the last chapter, so I'll try to keep the long ones at the end.
> 
> Also, I know it's only the First Year at the moment, but I'm hoping to have some form of relationship between Harry and a cannon character. If you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them and see who becomes the most popular. They can range from someone already in Harry's year or even Charlie Weasley for all I care. I'll see what I can do.
> 
> :)

 

 

The first morning after arriving at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was uneventful. The day was a free day, which many used to sleep in. I spent my free time exploring what I could about the castle. It looked like every other castle in Scotland I've seen pictures of, except for the fact that their were living portraits and no actual kings and queens that were still somewhat in rule. Nonetheless, it was still a pretty castle. 

Despite the scene that was created the night before, all the other First Years had gathered in small groups and so I was with the rest of the Slytherins, exploring every possible nook and cranny of Hogwarts without getting lost. It was rather annoying, to be brutally honest, having about ten or so other children who acted like Dudley with an even purer silver spoon shoved in their mouth following me around the place, but by the end of the small tour I allowed myself, I was glad. I had noticed an hour or so in the sharp glares that were being thrown our way by older students and even a couple other First Years from other houses, mostly Gryffindors, and I was sure that if we were alone we'd see the hostility first hand. Traveling in groups was probably a smart thing.

Aside from the fact that it seemed that the most pompous one, Draco Malfoy, was trying to show off his extreme wealth and stability in the Wizarding community, I learned more about the other First Years in my house I was sure none of the others were going to ever try to see. They only told truthful things about themselves when they were sure it was just the handful of us in a corridor and no one else was around aside from the paintings.

Like the fact that Daphne Greengrass had a fear of being left alone for too long, a truth we found out when she was too busy looking at one of the paintings with a unicorn and panicked before running towards Millicent Bulstrode once she did manage to catch up to us. And that Theodore Nott was almost as blind as me, though he doesn't use his glasses in public unless it was truly necessary. He preferred sticking a nose in his book, but multiple times one of the others in our group had to pull him away from bumping into something even though he was looking straight at it.

One of the more interesting things I noticed was that every one of them knew the other. I was the outcast that was begrudgingly being welcomed into their small pack through the sheer luck of just being a Slytherin. They acted cruelly when one of their own was called out upon by an outsider on one of the few occasions that had happened the day before. They looked out for each other, even if they held some form of grudge. 

Then it was the next morning.

I figured today would be no different. I was one of the first to wake up, grasping out for my glasses and setting them messily on the bridge of my nose. Looking around, I focused on trying to figure out what was going on in the first place. Already Malfoy was putting on his school robes, his immaculate hair slicked back though his snooty look was wiped from his face. I knew it would be set back once we left the common room.

Goyle and Crabbe were still sleeping away, some of Goyle's sheets resting on the floor as he snored up at the ceiling of the four poster bed. Zabini and Nott were about as awake as I was, though I was sure they wouldn't be getting out of bed anytime soon. Sighing, I pulled myself from the warmth of my sheets and began to get ready for the first day myself. As I was pulling out my own robes I noticed that my uniform's tie, which was black and had the Hogwarts crest at the top, had changed to that of Slytherin, a rich emerald with a soft silver dancing between the bold shade. Setting the clothes aside onto my bed, I took off my night clothes and got dressed, messily tying the new tie and glancing down at my Slytherin badge for a second, proud, and stuffed my wand in one of the pockets provided in my robes.

After that I tried messing with my unruly curls, though the brush just made it worse, like always, and I sighed again and tossed it back with the rest of my things and did the rest of my daily routine without it, including going to the First Year's conjoined bathroom. Once that was done, I stuffed what books I thought I'd need into my bag before slinging it across my shoulders and prepared to leave the dorm room.

Until Draco Malfoy, already primped and dressed for the visit of the Muggle queen, stopped me.

"You seriously think we're going to allow you out of the common room dressed like that?" he sneered, sounding more offended than he looked. Zabini had finally left the comfort of his bed and escaped into the bathroom, leaving me alone with a sleepy Nott and a sneering Malfoy. Brilliant.

"I'm wearing what you're wearing. I don't see what's wrong with it," I muttered, looking down at my uniform and then back at his. "Is it my hair? Because that's about as good as it's gonna get, Malfoy."

"Please," Draco snorted. "I knew your hair was going to be a lost cause as soon as I saw that poor brush of yours. But it's not that. You're dressed as if you  _want_ people to look down on you. Who bloody raised you to dress like a commoner?"

"Muggles, mostly."

"Of course they did." Mafoy rolled his eyes, as if he knew the answer already but didn't believe it, and strode up to me before tugging at my clothes. I tried to pry his fingers off, a bit disturbed at his sudden show of care towards me when the other day he was ready to sock me for just rejecting his hand, but after he slapped away my hands, he continued with his work. He fixed my tie, tucking it behind the dark grey sweater vest, and adjusted the dark cloak so that it wasn't hanging haphazardly off my shoulders. He stood back, surveying his work for a few seconds before nodding.

"It will do until we find someone to teach you how to dress yourself."

"I don't care how I dress, really," I blanched.

"You will soon. Or else you're going to be the laughing stock of the entire house."

From there he turned his back and I shuffled awkwardly out of the dorm and towards the Great Hall. I saw Barnes with a stack of paper, handing a sheet to Parkinson before handing another similar one to a Third Year and repeating that action with other students. When I sat down and got myself a bowl of porridge, a piece of parchment was thrusted into my face before I could eat. 

Grabbing it, I looked to see Poole's back as she went to hand Nott, who managed to get here before Zabini and Malfoy (and no doubt Crabbe and Goyle), a copy as well. Nott sat down next to me, squinting a bit to read what it was before shrugging and shoving it into a rather fancy looking bag besides him before he grabbed an apple and began to read. I looked myself and noted it was a timetable for our year. All First Years, as was explained to us the morning before, shared their classes together. Though, when you got older, some will take more advanced classes and the classes would either seem smaller or bigger, depending if you have younger or older years in your new classes.

The first class was Transfiguration, with Professor McGonagal, then Potions and Charms. Tomorrow would be Herbology, History of Magic, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. I cringed at having Quirrell to see at the end of the day, until I noted that Astronomy happened every night but Wednesdays and Fridays. A quick side note mentioned flying lessons were to begin in October, but the day was until then undecided.

Let the start of term begin.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small chapter, sort of a filler, but it's satisfactory


	4. Hour 4: Amicitia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't know so many people were actually up to reading something like this. It's definitely not one of the better ones, but it makes me happy to know that some people are enjoying this fanfic.
> 
> Also, to minty, I would like to thank you for giving your thoughts onto the story so far and for allowing me to sound like a dying owl when I found written gold of Viktor/Harry fanfictions (cause I was too curious about said ship ;P ).
> 
> :)

 

 

It was strange how people seemed to have gravitated towards me during the first few weeks of the term. Some were painfully obvious, such as the Slytherin first years, and some seemed very strange. To me, at least.

Malfoy seemed to have made it his priority to make sure I was dressed to his standards before I even stepped foot out of our dorm. Zabini, who seemed to be the only one fully functioning by this time, had a laugh every single morning at Malfoy's face each time he tackled the mess on my head. The other first year boys in our house made a bet, with myself included for it had me in the equation, on when he'd just give up trying to fix the tangles that decided to be known as my hair. The others weren't as demanding but they were good acquaintances, but still annoying to a degree.

What was interesting were the few that had managed to, dare I say, slither into the small circle of mutuals I had made over the weeks. Hermione Granger, a rather brash Ravenclaw who had a knack for being the first to answer the question to the fullest degree, had been one of the surprises. It had happened so suddenly that if I didn't already know where she belonged I would have thought I had missed her in my own common room. She had slowly made herself known, though whether it was intentional or not was unbeknownst to me, during a few rounds in the library or a small partnering project that we were forced to endure during a lesson. If anything, I felt that we had connected to be close enough to be considered friends, even. But it was highly doubtful she'd even consider such a thing, with the entire Slytherin status and terrible rumors already being passed around.

Another had been shy Hufflepuff Neville Longbottom, a rather chubby boy who seemed to fail in almost every class except for Herbology. This one I knew he couldn't have done without help, so I knew it was by accident and it was entirely my fault. Not saying that the lad was entirely a nuisance, as Professor Snape seems to think, but rather someone I wouldn't have really considered to be entirely important in my life. If I hadn't let slip about Aunt Petunia's (or really, mine, since I worked on it the most) rose bushes and the other Muggle flowers, Neville wouldn't have, most likely, given into thought that I was approachable. But, I also wasn't trying too hard not to be.

Lastly, which wasn't really a good thing in the end, was Ronald "Ron" Weasley. In my defense, he was the one that started most of what the older students considered a "friendly dispute". I call that "putting it lightly". I had merely bumped into him on my way to Potions on the third day being at Hogwarts, and soon I was being yelled at and was nearly blinded by a fist flying at my face. To say I was confused would have been an understatement.

Which brings me to a rather strange situation. I had never been well-liked as a kid, though I still think that was all Dudley's fault rather than mine, but that meant I didn't have a lot of friends growing up at the Dursley's. Correction: I didn't have any friends. Acquaintances, yes, but reserved for working on group projects that I made sure stayed at  _their_ house rather than mine. So I had never been surrounded by those that had actually wanted to be near me.

And sitting near the black lake with a grumbling Malfoy, a stiff Hermione and a shaking Neville wasn't something I was prepared for. Well, the grumbling from Malfoy was to be expected, for he grumbled at everything.

" _Why_ exactly are you here if I seem to annoy you so much!" Hermione snapped.

And there continues the argument I've been trying to ignore.

" _I_ have to make sure that Potter makes the right decisions outside of Slytherin common rooms. Seeing as you're here, I'm trying to fix his mistake, _Mudblood_ ," Malfoy growled back. Both were sitting on opposite side but wore matching expressions. Neville and I were the poor saps sitting between them both, hopefully never getting into the crossfire.

I felt Neville stiffen besides me as soon as the curse escaped Malfoy's lips. I rose a brow as a response but kept silent. I have no idea what that word was supposed to signify, but at the moment, I did not care. I just wanted to relax on the one homework free Friday we've had since the first week of school.

" _Excuse me?!_ " shrilled Hermione. I watched as she slammed her book shut, her dark curls seeming to poof more as she bristled with anger and hurt. "What did you call me?"

"Mudblood. That's what you are. Filth!" Malfoy returned. He wore a smug look as he looked down upon her, almost looking like a carbon copy of Professor Snape, if it weren't for their obvious differences in appearance.

"I-I-" Neville tried to interject but quickly shut his mouth at the dirty look both gave him. He shrunk back, bumping into me but he didn't seem to notice. I didn't move.

"I don't see any dirt on Granger," I said, looking at Hermione's immaculate clothes. "Maybe some dust but that's probably it."

"Harry," Hermione said, her voice strained. "That's  _not_ what he meant."

"Of course not. If I simply called you dirty, that would have been too much of a compliment for the likes of you."

"Oh, so it's a slur," I muttered.

"Correct." Hermione looked as if someone vomited on her shoes. "A rather rude and terrible one for something that is seriously so childish."

"But it is needed to show that Purebloods are on the top of the Wizarding food chain," smirked Draco. "If we didn't, you'd think you'd have the rights to do anything you so pleased. Which is laughable."

Hermione was red in the face, looking as if she wanted to punch the smug look of his pretty boy face.

"That seems kinda silly," I hummed. I stared at the black lake, catching the ripples that the legendary squid (or so legend says) created, ignoring the three sets of stares in my direction. "There seems to be so few wizards in the world already and many seem to want to discriminate those that were gifted into escaping the cruel world of Muggles. It doesn't help that the ratio of Purebloods seems less than fifty years ago compared to Half-bloods and Muggleborns that have been appearing every year. If anything, the Muggleborns are in the middle, with the Half-bloods at the top and Purebloods at the bottom, if we went by population."

"Exc-" I cut Malfoy off.

"But then again, the same could be said about Wizards and Muggles. If we're so superior, why are there more people with no magic than those with magic? That just doesn't seem fair. That's like being at the Dursleys all over again -- three Muggles for every Wizard or Witch. But if you keep saying the Purebloods are at the top, that separates the other three -- yes, Malfoy, I'm including Squibs -- away from them and sets Muggles in their own groupings. Leaving all the Purebloods to be lynched easier... That just doesn't seem fair."

"I've forgotten how morbid you can be once you open your mouth, Potter," Malfoy blanched.

"Which is something I must agree with, sadly," Hemerione mumbled.

"Don't even think you're on my level, filth!"

"Oh dear," Neville whimpered besides me. "There they go again."

"Let them," I said, taking out one of the books I borrowed from the library. "As long as they don't get into a brawl, they'll be fine. They just need to work out their feelings towards each other."

"But what if they do start to fight?"

"Then you just have to stop them, of course."

"E-EH?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short and somewhat disatisfactory chapter... But I felt I needed to update and this was my fourth or fifth draft. I'll try and make things a bit clearer in the next one (if anyone wants any at this point, which I'm sure will be few).


	5. Hour 5: Fugite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still happy that many people still seem to enjoy this story. I'll try to add more plot to this chapter.
> 
> :)

 

 

I glanced up from my Charms homework, eyes wandering over the large amount of books that surrounded me on tall shelves before I settled onto the boy sitting directly in front of me. He had shown up only a few minutes after Hermione left to get more books for herself, leaving me alone.

Blaise Zabini wasn't a terrible companion to have around. In fact, I probably preferred to have him in my company over Malfoy, who was starting to get more and more cranky each time Hermione was even a foot near me. But it was was still unnerving to be around anyone, despite it nearing October already.

"Is there something you needed, Zabini?" I asked, setting down my quill. He had been sitting there, doing nothing, the entire time and it obviously meant he was here for something. Why else would he be here?

"Not really. Just felt like hanging around somewhere other than the common room. The girls have been hanging around there more and more and their nonstop giggling is getting annoying," he replied. He propped his head against his head, looking about nonchalantly.

I rolled my eyes. "What's the other reason why you're here? Surely it can't just be because Parkinson and the girls have been 'nonstop giggling' about the common room. Did Malfoy send you here to make sure I wasn't sucking up to Granger?"

"There may have been some words passed to me about that," Blaise admitted. He shrugged his shoulders. "But I didn't give it much thought. If Malfoy really feels threatened over a silly little thing like blood status, then he can feel paranoid about it by himself. Gives me less of a headache."

"What doesn't give you a headache?" a new voice asked. Hermione rounded the corner, a large stack of books in her arms. She carried them as if they weighed nothing, and set them on the table with a large slam. I winced at the noise, pushing back any memories that resurfaced and returned to the real world. "I mean, it seems that giggling girls, Malfoy's relentless whining, and being bothered to even look at a parchment of homework is on that large list of yours."

"Well, I certainly don't mind being around Harry," the dark skinned boy admitted. "He's quiet and unannoying-"

"That's not even a word."

"- and that's certainly a quality I look for in a companion. Having good looks is a plus. Harry might drag in some of the ladies when he's older and if he's not interested, he can send them my way," Blaise finished. He ignored Hermione's interruption and her disgusted look.

"So you're just using me?" I asked, raising a brow. "And I thought we were coming onto a mutual understanding called friendship. How my wounds bleed over your harsh cutting words and pour onto the cut ties that had binded us so. No more shall I grieve over the lost attention that I felt worthy enough to receive from my so called companion who will never see me the way I see him."

"Oh don't be so sarcastic, Potter," Blaise muttered, rolling his eyes. "Or dramatic."

"What are those books for Hermione?" I asked, turning the subject at hand. I eyed her stack of books, noticing a common theme in her study of choice.

"I'm researching everything I can about flying on broomsticks from the wizarding perspective before tomorrow's flying lesson. I want to be fully prepared for any pop quizzes that may arise during the period." Hermione lifted her nose high as if that was basic knowledge.

"It's a flying lesson, Granger," Blaise sighed,"  _not_ a basic core class. It's not like the instructor will have desks out on the grounds with a test and a No-Cheat quill just laying besides it for a quiz we don't even study for."

"That's what you think," Hermion sniffed, squaring her shoulders. "You Slytherins, always only going as far as you feel you need to. I bet if there is a quiz, you'll score lower than Ronald Weasley."

"Oh, how hurt I feel," Zabini sighed, slapping a hand to his chest. "To be dumber than a Weasley. Surely I must be lower than scum to even be on that level."

"If you're both going to fight," I interrupted, "could you please do it somewhere else. I'm actually trying to use the library as a library, not a poetry battle. I believe there's an empty room for that on the fifth corridor by the Ravenclaw tower." I picked up my quill and attempted to continue what I was assigned.

"That things not due until next week," Blaise said. He pulled the parchment away from me before I could put ink to paper and held it above him, tauntingly. I suppressed more memories that threatened to leak through the barriers. "I bet not even a Ravenclaw has gotten this far."

"Oh, I've already finished," Hermione butted in. Her chest puffed out and she tucked a strand of curly hair behind her ear during her moment of pride. "It was fairly easy."

"I know. I finished it too," Blaise said, shrugging his shoulders. "But surely Harry won't need to finish it any time soon. Our next class starts in ten minutes."

Sighing, I wished I was left alone during the free period. Maybe then I could have gotten my work done.

 

 

***

 

 

After a rather stressful Potions class with Neville nearly blowing his face off if I didn't pull him back in time before the explosion and an equally stressful lunch (Malfoy was trying to show off his Quidditch knowledge and was being a prat about it), all the first years of Slytherin went down to the court yards where Madame Hooch was waiting for all of us. Gryffindor came stumbling down only a few minutes later.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she asked, frowning. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

I noticed that there were twenty broomsticks lined up nearly perfect, ten on each side. It seemed that meant that Slytherin went on one side and Gryffindors lined up on the other. I was situated (quite harshly, by the way) between Mafloy and Blaise, the latter giving me a quick smile before slipping the usual Slytherin mask on.

Madame Hooch walked down the aisle of brooms to the other side, where she stood at attention. "Stick out your right hand over your broom and say 'Up!'"

Looking down at my broom, which looked like it's been through better times, I put my hand out and paused. The others around me were already calling for their brooms, some coming up automatically and others waiting around until they felt like it. 

Blaise and Malfoy's had already come up on their first try, but some, like Pansy and Weasley, had a harder time getting it into their hands. In fact, Weasley's had lifted and whacked him harshly in the nose, which got a few to snicker at his predicament.

"Aren't you going to try and get your broom, Potter?" Malfoy sneered, raising a groomed brow. "Surely you aren't feeling scared. That's not a very Slytherin trait."

"I don't really see the point of this," I muttered. "What use does this have with flying. If we say 'Up' -" at this point, the broom launched off the ground and into my hand, nearly knocking me over" - at any random time, let's say in the John, would it come to us anyways? Or is it only to show off what little magic we can do without a wand and never being able to do it again. Cause it seems utterly useless."

"This is why we can't have nice things, Potter," Malfoy sighed. "You simply can't just enjoy the ability of creating magic? You could have been a Squib you know. Useless and unwanted. Would you have preferred that?"

"If I was a Squib, my parents would still be alive."

"That might be true," Blaise piped in. "But it might not. You could have been a miracle Squib and still managed to survive the wrath of the Dark Lord."

"Either way, you'd still be famous."

"But I just want to be Harry. Why can't you understand that?"

"I won't understand what you don't understand," Malfoy grunted. "Like, seriously, how are you a Slytherin?"

"How are you tolerable," I snapped back. Malfoy looked ready to send a snarky remark back, but Madame Hooch interrupted to finish her lesson. I was glad nothing bad happened during the lesson. I remember Neville getting a Remembrall (whatever that is) and Malfoy was tempted to steal and humiliate the poor Hufflepuff only earlier this morning. I'm sure, with Neville's luck, there would have been broken bones and a terrible consequence to one of us if he was in our lesson at all. 

When it finished, Madame Hooch let us go early and I started to head off the field and wander the hallways near Charms.

"Wait up Harry!" I paused, looking behind me to see Blaise running to catch up. Behind him, Malfoy was grumbling something underneath his breath as he followed with Pansy clutching his arm.

"What?"

"What? I can't walk with you to Charms?"

"Why are you interested in doing so?"

"We're friends, right?" he asked, crossing his arms in front of him. "We should walk to classes all the time."

"Friends?"

"Yeah. You've had friends before, right?"

"No, not really," I said, tugging at the straps to my book bag (well, it was one of Dudley's old ones he never used so I stole it to make it my own). "My cousin wasn't very nice and scared all the kids away and made life miserable. Those who weren't scared of him were his friends and helped with Harry Hunting."

Blaise looked at me like I grew another head. "Harry Hunting?"

"Oh yes. They thought it was a really fun game."

"Harry, what's Harry Hunting?"

I didn't answer.

"Harry?"

"Malfoy, why are you following us?" I asked, peering behind me. Malfoy was closer and he looked about ready to chew his arm off. Pansy was looking as if she smelled the most delicious chocolate after years of being on a diet. I ignored the look Zabini was giving me as I sidestepped his question.

"We're going to the same class, Potter. Why else?"

"Well, it's annoying."

"You're annoying."

 

 


	6. Hour 6: Sollicitus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was thinking of turning this into a multi-part series and separating this into 7 books. Like, this would be book 1 and based off of the Philosopher's Stone and book 2 would be based off of Chamber of Secrets, etc, etc. Or I'd just keep it as one entire book and title the first chapter of each new year, stating it was a new year or something... Thoughts?
> 
> :)

 

 

I realized early on that being in the Wizarding World after living in the Muggle World would be a hard process to understand what to get used to and what to not. For one thing, quills were a pain in the butt to learn how to hold properly and I was tempted to steal one of Dudley's old pens and bring it back to Hogwarts just so I wouldn't end up having ink stains on my hands and the sleeves of my robes after trying to attempt at creating an essay. Another thing is, mainly in my case, the looks that are sent my way through various people. Occasionally it's just a ghost passing by and believing I was my father (which I learned more about after one mistakened me for my father and Hermione was the one to explain to me who he was in the first place by going to the trophy case), but that I could easily slide past me. When you're basically immortal and dead, what's the use of actually paying attention to time when it doesn't exist?

But it was strange when you received odd looks from your potions professor while brewing. 

Professor Snape was an odd bloke, considering he looked like he's skipped on too many showers that would have Aunt Petunia in a fit. His long dark hair was greasy, his nose large and hooked, and he sneered at anyone and anything that crossed his path. He was extremely harsh for a professor, though I do have to give him so credit to that. If he wasn't, I'm sure there would be many more students being sent to the infirmary due to misuse of a potion ingredient. But he was a giant ass, as Uncle Vernon would put it. That's the nicest way he would be able to explain it in front of children, at least. But that wasn't what made him peculiar. 

At times, the professor looked like he swallowed an entire lemon whole and drank a bottle of firewhiskey soon after. While I haven't tasted the alcoholic drink myself, I've heard from a few 6th years that it was like a harsh burn falling down your throat and was much worse than normal Muggle drinks. 

In any case, it wasn't as if it were hindering my ability to function. Yes, occasionally looking up to check and make sure you got the notes down just right and seeing that look directed towards you, full speed ahead, was unnerving. And yes, when you realize that he only looks that way at you, it makes it even worse, but when you pretend he's looking besides you or behind you, the feeling slowly ebbs away into a dull ache at the back of your head and you continue trying to make some use of whatever potions was good for.

"H-Harry! The potion's boiling over!" a voice squeaked. I quickly turned off the burner and pushed Longbottom back as we waited for the ruined potion to cool down or explode. It wasn't much longer until I could hear the swish of heavy robes heading in our direction and the long face and hooked nose of Professor Snape was in front of us. He immediately sneered down at the sorry excuse of our muck.

"It seems that your attempt on creating something so simple has slipped passed any cognitive thought that remains in your head, Mr. Potter, Mr. Longbottom," the Head of Slytherin drawled out. "Surely you wrote down the instructions carefully, read them twice before gathering ingredients and proceeded to follow directions  _precisely_? Or did you simply feel that your fame was enough to get you far in my class, for if you did think that, you are wrong."

"I apologize Professor," I said, cutting off whatever Longbottom decided to stammer out," but I was thinking and carelessly left Neville, who is already nervous about being in the same room as you, take care of watching our potion. If one should take the blame, sir, let me."

"Mr. Potter, being heroic does nothing to alleviate any form of punishment for reckless behavior. 5 points from Hufflepuff and a detention for you, Mr. Potter," Snape droned, looking down at at us and walked off wish a swish of his robes, though I managed to catch a quick look of the sour firewhiskey again.

"I-I'm sorry Harry!" Neville stuttered, shaking in his seat as he tried his best to clean up our mess. "I tried, honest! But I'm terrible at potions and Professor Snape scares me..." The brunette boy continued to shake and I had the feeling that if he continued to do that, he would slowly shake out of his own clothes.

"It's not your fault entirely," I said, bluntly. "Next time just tell me a little sooner and we could have avoided an awkward encounter with the Bat of the Dungeon." I took the rag from Longbottom. "Why don't you get more ingredients and we can start again. You have lunch after this, right?" The Hufflepuff nodded. "Well, we'll take up some lunch time to get it completed correctly this time and see if we can get some points back."

"You really want to do that?" 

"It's my grade too, you know..."

"Oh, right..."

 

***

 

Later that week, after detention, I was cornered on the way to the Slytherin common room by Zabini and Granger, who had been following me for the past few corridors. It wasn't hard to figure out that their person of interest was myself, considering that every time I looked back they would either hide or make it look like they were taking a casual stroll together and awkwardly smiled and waved before slowly continuing behind me. I had grown tired of this poorly made Cat-and-Mouse play and purposely got the three of them lost until I found a dead-end.

Turning, I crossed my arms and waited for the two heads of dark hair to pop around the corner. It only took a few seconds and once the two realized I was waiting for them, they skid to a halt.

"Hullo, Harry..." Granger said weakly, raising a hand. 

"Seems like we can't shake you off, can we Harry," Zabini continued, a poorly made smirk plastered on his face. 

"You two are seriously worse than my own cousin at this game," I said, raising a brow. "At least he can catch on when I know he's following me and can lie better than both of you combined. Which I'm disappointed in. I thought Granger the Great and Zabini the Silver-Tongued could do something much better than this."

"Zabini the Silver-Tongued, huh?" the dark skinned Slytherin muttered. "I like the sound of that..."

" _Speaking_ of your cousin, Harry," Hermione pushed, glaring over at the distracted boy besides her," we wanted to talk to you about your family."

"We've already covered this subject a few weeks ago," I said. "If you forgot I can summarize what we discussed, if you'd like. Your Muggle parents are both dentists and you've been reading books since the age of four. Zabini's mother has a curse that seems to kill all of his step-fathers and even his own so she lives at home, and despite what many believe, she has quite the fiery personality. And I live with my Muggle relatives and go to school. There, we've talked and now I'd like to really go back to my common room and finish my homework before a teacher comes by and realizes we're out past curfew."

Hermione's eyes widened at that and before she could react to my words, Blaise cut in. 

"We, well,  _I,_ wanted to ask you what 'Harry Hunting' was. You never answered last time I asked."

"And  _I_ believe the reason why you won't confess is because of past and present child abuse that is clearly much to present in all families, Muggle and Magical alike, these days," Hermione continued, thought she still had the nervous look in her eyes. 

"My family life is fine."

"Then explain 'Harry Hunting'."

" **STUDENTS OUT OF BED!** " a loud voice yelled. It echoed the halls and alerted all three of us. Peeves, the resident ghost of trickery at Hogwarts, rounded the corner and grinned maliciously. " **STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!** "

Immediately, the three of us ran, gladly being pulled by the other when they knew one of us was going the wrong direction and soon we rounded to another dead end, where only one door was present. We slammed into it, Zabini and I trying desparately at jiggling the knob and trying to get in before Mrs. Norris or Filch, who we could hear stomping near us, got any closer.

"Oh, move over!" Hermione ordered, shoving the two of us away. She took out her wand from her robe and, in a fluid motion, tapped the lock and whispered something I couldn't grasp as she tugged us into the dark room. Quietly, we pressed ourselves against the door and listened intently to the other side and waited.

Filch growled and Mrs. Norris was sounding pretty miffed as well, but in a few minutes footsteps were heard walking away and Peeve's cackling followed soon after. 

Sighing, I relaxed and looked around the room we were in, curious. Well, it was actually sort of a corridor, rather than a room. And it didn't exactly hold paintings of wizards long dead or piles of armor that the school didn't have room to show off. It actually held a rather big dog with three heads. Unhappy three heads, that is.

"Erm, Granger?" I called out, not daring to take my eyes off of the monstrous dog in front of me. I didn't hear a response so I called to her again, this time including Blaise, who both gasped once I managed to get their attention. "You do see the giant Cerberus in the room, right? I didn't hit my head trying to escape another detention, right?"

"Merlin, we need to go! Now!" Blaise yelled, and he grabbed both Hermione and I and we booked it once more, and I swear I narrowly missed the clashing teeth of the head on the left trying to have a taste of Harry Potter souffle. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a note saved saying "I made Snape's background slightly different based on a slight AU that I made up using small, insignificant scenes from the movie, what I know fully, and James and Lily Potter:P" and I've been gone so long that I've forgotten most of what I meant from that...
> 
>  
> 
> Also, a really short chapter, I'm sorry! I'm a terrible author! But I figured I ignored this story enough (despite having tests and major writer's block for weeks) and, while some of it may seem forced (cause it is), I didn't want to make people think that this story is abandoned.


	7. Hour 7: Negatio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeeeey! Long time no see! If you haven't noticed already I've made this story apart of a series of non!Gryffindor Harry Potter fanfictions that I'm currently writing about. One's about a badass Hufflepuff, the other about a Ravenclaw with a mental illness and this one is, of course, a Slytherin that deals with obvious abuse. 
> 
> Anyways, I'm trying to get back to writing since I've sorta balanced out my new job and writing. So I'll try and update more and get over my heavy Writer's Block (it's so big it's capitalized)
> 
> There is some language involved in this chapter so excuse the eleven year old's surprising potty mouth....
> 
> Well, that's all I have to say for now so...
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> :)

There seemed to seriously be some form of miscommunication between first years for Hermione Granger and Blaise Zabini to not understand that I do not care about the giant ass dog that happened to be on the forbidden third floor. If that's the case, then it makes sense why they're so demanding of my attention on the matter.

"Harry, we seriously have to talk about what happened that night!" Hermione exclaimed. She had me cornered in the library, Blaise standing behind her with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. "There is no way someone could ignore the Cerberus like you're trying to do!"

"Granger, as long as it doesn't attack me I don't really care if it's there or not." I tried to move past her, hugging my books closer to my body, but I was blocked further as she spread her legs and Zabini moved in closer to block the other way. I sighed in frustration.

"As much as I'd like to agree and ignore the giant three headed dog" -- he was interrupted by Hermione who corrected him and said "Cerberus" -- "there is no reasonable reason as to  _ why _ there's a freaking large ass dog in our school." The Slytherin crossed his arms and leant casually against the bookshelf. Despite the air of cool disinterest, I could see the unease and agitation just crawling underneath his skin.

"Well obviously it's guarding something," Granger muttered, rolling her eyes. "Why else would there be a trap door underneath it's incredibly large paw?" She stated this as if it were common knowledge and a bit of her attitude irked me. I was tempted to tell her that her obnoxious opinions would one day backfire and send her crying in a girl's lavatory but decided it wasn't worth the scowl and rant that was sure to come directly afterwards. 

"I was more worried about the three large heads growling down at us to be worried about what it's standing on, Granger," Zabini grumbled back. 

I sighed and decided enough was enough and pushed my way past the Ravenclaw so I could finally set my books down at a table and continue my work. "Don't worry about it then, Zabini. Your family's practically neutral in everything so whatever that Cerberus is guarding shouldn't be on your mind at all." I could hear the two follow me as I talked. "And Granger, shouldn't you be worrying about your grades? It's a little suspicious that someone so prim and proper with the rules would want to be curious about a three headed dog from Greek myths guarding something obviously important in the school?" I couldn't see their expressions but a part of me was hoping they would be offended enough to leave me alone for the rest of my life.

"W-Why, I think that, while being expelled may be worse than death, I should at least get answers as to why there's a Cerberus on school grounds! Like, at my old school they'd let us know about the precautions bein--"

I interrupted her, slamming my books down on the table in a huff. "The dog is probably guarding something that's obviously important to Voldemort, you idiots," I heatedly whispered. Both of them flinched, Zabini more so than Granger as he lived in this world longer than the Muggleborn. "Why else would this be the first weird occurrence going on at this freaking school? I mean, from the upperclassmen the weirdest thing is the constant changing of DADA professors and the once in a while small smiles from Snape that make them think that he's had a stroke of some kind. But as soon as I'm here, suddenly there's a three headed dog on the third floor, the rivalries between Gryffindor and Slytherin are at it's worst, and my head of house has become even more odd than he already was. A four year old could figure this out!"

Granger looked absolutely shocked at this and Zabini looked as if he was thinking about it too hard. If I wasn't annoyed I would have snickered at the hilarious faces they were providing me. I might inquire about a pensieve at some point just so I can see about reliving this precious moment of hilarity. 

"That does seem rather odd..." Zabini finally admitted. Finally, something that made sense coming out of this boys mouth. 

Granger spoke in question, "What do you mean?" The Ravenclaw looked genuinely curious at this, no longer looking quite as hurt as she did only seconds ago. 

"Well, Malfoy's family holds a social gala biannually and invites all the purebloods and high ranking half-bloods." Granger gave a sniff of indignation at that comment but Zabini and I ignored it. "So that means that every winter break and every summer there's a gathering of all the social elites (yes, even the Weasley's are invited but they don't come because of some rivalry between the two lords or whatever). And that means all of us younger years get tips and social standing early before we go to Hogwarts or any of the other schools. I've talked to some and they've never mentioned anything as crazy as this. Not anything that wasn't quidditch related."

Granger thought on that for a few seconds before she brightened and jumped in with a rebound statment and the beginning of a debate. "But what if they've never noticed!"

"Granger, you seriously think that a bunch of teenagers, especially the loner ones, wouldn't come out saying to their parents at some point in their schooling years that there was something weird going on at school?"

"It would be bad on their part if they tell their parents and they tell the school board only to find out it wasn't true, Blaise!" Granger refuted. "You even said it yourself, they're social elites. It would be bad on their records once they left school if they accused the Headmaster of having something so dangerous in the schools and it got out in the papers, only to have someone come in and find out it's been a lie, even though the problem had been removed."

"Be as that may, it's highly unlikely, even for Dumbledore," I cut in. "The Hogwarts Board of Governors would surely see it, especially since Draco Malfoy's own father is apart of it." I opened a book as I finally sat down and tried to read, but was, once again, interrupted. Rude.

"How do you know that?"

"Ugh. Know what?"

"Know that Malfoy's dad is apart of the Board of Governors?"

I rolled my eyes. "It's practically written all over him. Plus, he's even said," I changed my voice to be slightly higher and more pompous,"  _My father is apart of the Board of Governors for this school. If he finds out that I've had to do something as easy as this, he'll have to go all the way to change the curriculum to match Durmstrang's, which is where he wanted me to go in the first place!_ " 

Granger and Zabini gave a little snort, though the former quickly hid it behind her hands and flushed darkly. I couldn't help the small smile slip on my face but I wiped it off as quickly as it came. 

"He does sorta sound like that."

"But what do you think You-Know-Who needs that  _Hogwarts_ has to hide it?" Granger questioned, quickly going back to the earlier topic. Whatever mirth was there was gone.

"I dunno? The philosopher's stone? A potion that grants overwhelming power? A pamphlet that shows him the way out of my life forever so I can finally live in peace?" I said sarcastically.

"That's it!" Granger jumped, clapping her hands, eyes going wide as a large grin was stretching across her face. 

"What, the pamphlet? There's actually a pamphlet?"

"No, Harry! The philosopher's stone! It's so obvious!"

"Okay, now I'm confused," Zabini said, slumping down on a chair besides me. "What does the philosopher's stone have to do with bringing back You-Know-Who?"

"To be honest I didn't know it existed. Just thought it was some Muggle myth about alchemy," I admitted. "You know, like in books or whatever."

Granger ran her hands through her curly hair, pacing in front of us while muttering, though it slowly raised in volume and the two of us could now understand what she was saying.

"--and then he'd drink it and gain immortality to continue rising in power, but then he'd have to continue drinking it or have it with him!"

"Granger, you've lost us."

"He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named," she began," is going to look for the stone so he could be immortal like he's always planned!"

"How do you know he wants to be immortal?" I asked. "We've never really been given his reason for power other than killing muggles and muggleborns and blood traitors."

"Well, a power hungry lord like him wouldn't entrust his kingdom to someone else, Harry. He'd want to find a way to live forever and still have power over everyone. He can't really be powerful and still have magic if he died and just became a ghost. A poltergeist, maybe, but he'd still won't have any magic. I thought you said a four year old could figure this out!" Hermione looked smug. 

"I said they could figure out what a Cerberus was doing here, not Voldemort's plan to take over the world."

"In any case, it was said that Nicholas Flamel, the creator of the philosopher's stone, and his wife (who, by the way, are over six-hundred years old!) gave up the stone to someone close to them and are finally going to have peace after living so long." Hermione stopped pacing and placed her hands down on the table. "Do you know who that someone is??"

"Dumbledore..." Zabini muttered. His brows were furrowed as he put his thinking face on once again. "Now it's making sense."

"Exactly."

I sighed and crossed my arms against the surface of the table, laying my head on it. "Now that we have that figured out, does that mean we can stop worrying about a giant dog in the castle?"

"Well, it's not like we can tell anyone about the stone being under a giant dog's foot... Though, I think it'll be real easy to get past it."

I thought about it for a while. If I were the keeper of my enemy's only source of living, I wouldn't just leave it under one obstacle. Like, if I had the chance to hide a slice of Dudley's favourite cake, just to torture him, I would have him do an military approved exercise routine, a read aloud of  _War and Peace_ , and then a spelling bee just so he could get just a small crumb with a dot of frosting. It would be marvelous.

"The teachers probably made obstacles for him, or whoever's here to get it for him."

Granger nodded, relaxing and sitting down on the table. "If Professor  Dumbledore has it, that means he probably made them do something they're good at. But that also means he has suspicions about one of them too..."

"Probably made sure it was also easy enough for a kid to do it too..." Zabini muttered.

"Now you've lose me, Blaise..." Granger admitted. "Why would Professor Dumbledore have a student go through it?" 

All the Slytherin did was look at me. It took me a few moments to realize what he was getting at and I felt angry. Not entirely at him but at everything. I'm only 11 years old and if Zabini's correct, than a grown wizard, many of them in fact, will believe that I would be able to do this on my own. To defeat a guy that couldn't get past whatever my parents did to kill me. It seems all wizards are idiots...

"You can't be serious."

"I wouldn't joke about this, Harry."

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuck..."

"Harry! Language!"

"Granger, let him swear this one time, please!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know in the original universe Harry is pretty dumb. But I wanted to get things done and over with. I was tempted to do the Halloween chapter but I might do that next chapter... Maybe. Considering that Harry has some smarts, already figured out most of what's happening (even though I know it's impossible, I just needed to get the ball rolling in this chapter), that just means that I can finally move on through what I believe to be one of my least favourite books. 
> 
> Plus, I feel like I needed to add some of the original plot for you guys and some heavy duty things since I've made you wait so long.


	8. Hour 8: Acceptatio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm *this close* to editing commenting rights on some of my works. It's not due to *all* of you with your lovely comments but rather a particular individual that's been pissing me off and doesn't seem to understand that I won't miss them if they stop reading my fanfiction just because they won't look at someone else's opinion.
> 
> Anyways, I'll be keeping this weekly thing going and I hope it stays this way too!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> :)

 

 

I was left alone by the time Winter Break rolled around. I had watched Granger and Zabini (unwillingly, by the way) leave with the rest of the students on the carriages to the station where they'd head back home to their family's for the rest of the year. Even Draco Malfoy left, though he gave me a rather long speech about how I'd better dress myself properly even if there aren't many people around yada yada yada. I didn't bother paying attention after a couple of sentences.

To be completely honest... I was a little sad to see the three of them go. It was... nice... to have people go out of their way to hang out with me without Dudley or my other relatives chasing them away. Not that I'll let them know that any time soon. It's hard enough to admit it to myself!

I didn't realize how silent my day was until nearly the entire school was gone. Especially those in the Slytherin common rooms. I think I was the only one to actually stay for the winter break. If anyone else were here they obviously didn't show themselves when I went down. One would think they'd take this opportunity to get down and dirty in the common room, just for the thrills. After that thought, I shuddered. If they were here and I don't know, I don't think I'll sit on the couches until everyone else comes back.

The first few days were okay. I mostly stayed in the dorms or the library, working on the homework that was due after break. At times I'd leave to walk around outside to get some exercise, my motivation into never looking or ending up like Dudley as his form of exercise is competitive eating. That meant that I got to not only see the Weasley twins (Fred and George, if I overheard correctly) throw charmed snowballs at the back of Quirrell's turband  _and_ get detention for it. It was very enjoyable.

By the time Christmas rolled around, I didn't expect much to happen that was particularly exciting. I was, happily, proved wrong.

I had received four presents, all laid out on my trunk at the base of my bed. It wasn't much but it still was very surprising. One from Granger (a bag of sugerfree candy from the muggle world and a rather thoughtful card), one from Zabini (an invitation to visit him over the summer when he was in Italy along with a super soft {and possibly expensive} pillow made in Rome) and one from Malfoy (who had just sent me a crystal wizard chess set meant for me to practice on so I'd "get better for the next year"). What really boggled me, though, was the final package with no name. Inside was a rather curious cloak that, after I tried it on, made my entire body invisible?! Holy crap! That's freaking awesome! Just think, I could have so used this when I was trying to hide from Dudley whenever Harry Hunting was involved. That doofus wouldn't even know what hit him!

A note fell out:

_Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well._

_A Very Merry Christmas to you._

How curious. My own father had an invisibility cloak? How no one knew this must mean that this was a particularly well kept secret. For I'm sure that there would have been some mention of this in biography books, in his own vault or even Hagrid (who did, in fact, take me from my relatives to take me to this world), who apparently knew my parents. 

Oh well. I got a freaking cool cloak!

I don't remember if I left the common room until dinner, which I spent with what was left of the Weasleys, the small group of other students that stayed behind due to unknown reasons to myself, and the professors. Of those I was particularly found of Professor Sinistra, the astronomy professor. Despite only seeing her at midnight, usually on Wednesdays, she wasn't like the other teachers. She didn't push students for homework but she wasn't a pushover either. Tonight her rich dark hair, which was normally in a thick braid piled on her head in a cone like shape with the rest danging over her shoulder, was down, the long braid trailing down her Christmas attire. She gave me a welcoming smile before continuing to talk to Flitwick about something or other. 

I sat besides a nervous looking second year who seemed adamant at not looking at anyone at the table, twiddeling their thumbs on their lap. I was greeted by Professor Dumbledore, along with McGonagall and a couple of others. The Weasley twins were the most jubilant about being around. I was just glad I haven't gotten on their nerves or else I'd end up with the same scowl as Ronald and Percy had as they began to put food on their plates, hair covered in patches of very bright colors.

I didn't plan to stick around while I was finished eating, even if the look Snape had when he was coerced into pulling a popper with the Headmaster was hilarious as it came. Instead, I took the distraction to explore the castle at night with the new cloak I was given. 

It wasn't the  _best_ idea I've had, not by a long shot. But the boredom of the past few days were not as enticing as doing something dangerous. The part of me that cared about being caught was sure to be tied up on a plank by the Daredevil personality. Not that I minded. It was either this or another night of sitting in the dorm room, wishing that Draco was rambling his mouth off to the two goons he dragged around everywhere because at least  _that_ was a better way to spend the night. Maybe it had to do with the silence. Spending a couple of months with nothing but noise that wasn't always obnoxious was a relief. It made me even more sad to realize that I would be sent back to the Dursley's in June.

And as I expected, Hogwarts wasn't as exciting at night than it was in the day. Sure, the aesthetic was pleasing. The torches were still lit for the celebration and all the moving paintings were off in other portraits doing their own little thing. I passed by a painting that normally held women sitting around sewing and gossiping that was completely empty except for a sheep gnawing on the oiled garment they were forever working on. They wouldn't like that when they came back.

In the more open hallways, where the windows were parted to let the moonlight stream through, one could see the dust-motes swirling around in a never ending dance, the only audience being the moon, stars and myself. 

Turning a corner, I found two whispering voices behind a suit of armor, sounding quite harsh and nervous. Looking around I realized I didn't remotely recognize where I was, and the one suit of armor being here didn't help. Cause all the armor looks exactly the same.

Taking small steps closer, gripping the invisibility cloak tighter to myself to remind me that I was, indeed, invisible. I didn't pay any attention to the words being spoken, though I couldn't help but catch "restricted section" among them... Well, it certainly wasn't me, I'm not stupid enough to go there even with a cloak like this. 

Walking past I caught a glimpse of Professors Snape and Quirrell, for once Quirrell looking less shaky on his feet but more angry than I've ever seen. I remember the day after Halloween when Snape was limping about, his left leg wrapped, and despite him trying to be descrete, one who knew how to hide injuries could always tell when another was trying to do so anyways. Something about that reminded me of the Cerberus on the third floor. There was no way a troll could have caused something that would have caused bandages to appear on a leg. So something bigger or something with sharper teeth must have done the damage.

Meaning that Snape might have been after the stone. But, well, the non-stuttering Quirrell is really suspicious as well. There was no way someone like him could cut the stutter in front of someone who frightened 7th years. 

A sound caught my attention and I cursed silently at the pebble I accidentally kicked. Immediately Snape and Quirrell dispatched, with the former heading in my direction and the latter fleeing into the dark. I moved quickly, only to see a lantern heading in the other way around the corner, which meant that Filch must be the one that started this search and Snape must have found Quirrell along the way as well.

I dodged both at the same time, thanking the cloak and the years of practice I've had, ducking into an open doorway and nearly startling myself as I caught my reflection in a rather large mirror that stood in the middle of the (must have been) unused classroom. The strange thing: I was still wearing the invisbility cloak. I was glad I could control my voice or I would have definitely alerted those in the corridors of my presence. 

Curious, though, I stepped closer to the mirror, examining it closely. It was very tall, nearly reading the ceiling, gold, and it stood on clawed feet. Along the top arched the words  _"Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on woshi"_. Odd.... The puzzle was there but the answer was hard to decipher. It surely wasn't any Latin.

It was after I looked down that I saw others with me. Two adults, one with familiar messy black hair, the other flaming red with eyes hard to not recognize. My parents. Behind them were others: a man with scars along his face, besides him another with scruffy black hair that was laughing while clasping his hand on the first's shoulder; a woman with short blonde hair holding a baby about as chubby as could be as she gazed lovingly at a man with kind eyes; Granger and Zabini standing besides my reflection as my parents clasped hands on my shoulder, large smiles on their faces as they waved at me, not my copy.

"I show not your face but what your heart desires," I whispered, hands clenching tighter on the fabric. "The Mirror of Erised, of desire.... I didn't think we'd have that here too."

The other Harry winked at me, throwing his arms around Granger and Zabini, around his Hermione and his Blaise. I didn't know who any of the other people were, besides my mum and dad, but I was pretty sure that the baby was Neville Longbottom as a baby being held by his parents, though all but his friends faces were blurry and hard to make out other than their distinctive features.

"Of course..." I smiled sadly. "They're too damn likable, those idiots..."

I left after a half hour of sitting in front of my reflection, pretending in my head that this wasn't a mirror and that it was all real. But I knew about the Mirror of Erised. Not much, but enough to know that it was a dangerous object. People have wasted away just sitting here.

This would be my first and last time ever being near it, so I took as much time as I was comfortable, memorizing what I could, before leaving the unused and dusty classroom. I headed back to the Slytherin dorms, trying my best not to run back and stare at the mirror.

Oh yes, that mirror was dangerous indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People are slowly growing on Harry... Not in a creepy way, like actual people growing on Harry.... Now you and I have that image in our heads... Sorry...
> 
> I had a lot of trouble trying to do this in First Person and constantly caught myself when I went into Third. I hope I got them all... heh hehe...


	9. Hour 9: Mea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas everyone! Well, for those living in the UK or anywhere else in Europe/Asia/Africa area, it's more like this: Merry Post-Christmas everyone! It's Christmas for me here but I opened all my gifts on Christmas Eve even though I don't really do anything religious... It's fine though, I usually opened one on the eve and then the rest the next day but it isn't unusual.
> 
> Anyways, I figured I'd update while I hang with my family and give you all a gift of sorts with my awkward and misplaced words! :D
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> :)

 

 

"I still can't believe you had to spend the entire holiday here and still dress like you've just got mobbed by those lower than your station!"

That was the first thing Malfoy sneered to me the morning after everyone came back. Classes began again after the welcome back feast the night before and most were too excited to care about appearances to see all their friends once again while others were too busy bragging about what they had done over break. I didn't stay long at the Slytherin table before moving over to the Ravenclaw table where Granger sat, reading more than eating, as Zabini followed. So whatever anyone at the Slytherin table had to say to me I didn't really hear until today. And that included Malfoy's.

"Well, excuse me for not keeping up with my beauty techniques, but holiday means relaxation and relaxation means I can dress however I want," I muttered, trying to get past him. He was blocking the doorway, hardly dressed for classes himself but clearly he didn't seem to mind as he was too busy keeping me from heading to breakfast. "Can you move? Or do I have to answer three riddles correctly to be able to pass?"

"No," Malfoy grunted, pushing me further into the dorm. "There is no way I'm letting you leave this room until you look presentable! Merlin, Potter, it's like you can't seem to live without me if you look like such a mess!" His sneer turned into a smirk. "Did you miss me so much over Christmas that this is your subtle way to have me back in your life?"

Ugh.

"Please, just get on with it so I can finally leave."

He didn't lose his smirk but kept his mouth shut as he fixed whatever I needed fixing. As soon as he stepped away I pushed past him and headed out of the common room faster than ever. Screw what I said about missing his annoying mouth running wherever possible. I forgot how irritating he could be.

"Good morning Harry," Neville greeted softly as I walked down to the spot at the Hufflepuff table. Besides him Hermione was already mumbling into her hand as she ate some food and studied. She looked about as stressed out as she did before break, maybe more. She had muttered something about finals coming up for that quarter but I wasn't too worried about that. Things can be fibbed easily during the first round. It's only when OWLs were concerned that you really gotta pay attention.

"Morning."

"How was your break? I didn't get to ask you about it yesterday, considering that my table was... well..." he trailed off, playing with a stretched out part of his sweater, a loose thread continuously unraveling at his activity. 

I sat down besides him, grabbing an apple from the overflowing bowl. "It was... adequate." I didn't bother mentioning the mirror. They would get curious, start their own adventure, and then lose more points for their own house and they might mention my name. Then I'd get in trouble and I have no necessary need for that.

"What did you do?"

"Wandered around some. Saw some interesting sights like the Weasley twins throwing snowballs at Quirrell's turban during the first few days. They got in trouble but I think for all that saw it was worth it." I couldn't stop the small smile that was on my face from the memory. "It was hilarious."

"Harry, it's not a good thing to make fun of a teacher. I hope you know that," Hermione said, glancing up from her text. "It's not nice."

I rolled my eyes. "I know, Granger. Yeesh."

"What did you get for Christmas?" Longbottom asked. "I'm sorry I didn't get you anything. I... I wasn't sure what you'd like and Gran only gave me money for the train ride so you wouldn't have gotten anything too expensive anyways..."

"It's fine, Longbottom. I didn't expect much anyways," I said, not really up to having a sobbing Hufflepuff on my hands first thing this morning. "I just got some small things, a chess set and a new robe. Thanks for the candy by the way, Granger. You didn't need to get me anything."

"It was no problem. Thank you for the Transfiguration book, Harry. It was very thoughtful of you," Hermione smiled at me before returning to her studying. The conversation smoothed over even after Blaise joined us for the rest of breakfast before the four of us separated; Blaise and I to charms while Hermione and Neville headed to double Herbology.

Nothing really important happened for another few weeks until the four of us were back together and in the library, Hermione and I needing a couple of books for our partnered Transfiguration homework while the other two just needing somewhere to go.

It was here that we stumbled upon Hagrid with an armful of books on dragons, young ones in fact. He also seemed frazzled as he carefully held them, despite the fact that I was sure they've been through worse than the hands of a half-giant. What children can do with books is disastrous.

He had left as quickly as he could but it didn't stop us from following after him. The half-giant wasn't usually so shifty and nervous, especially since he left his collection of library books sitting on the table besides them. We also weren't very close but it was still curious and I couldn't help but be curious as to what could make someone so loving of dangerous creatures like a Cerberus. Oh yes, we figured out who owned the good boy, we just have yet to figure out his name.

"Why is the window so foggy?" Blaise asked, trying to look through the glass of the window. It was blurry, which was unusual, and from what I could see through the condensation on the window there was something going on over the fireplace.  

"It's probably extremely warm in there," Hermione hypothesized. "Fang doesn't seem to be too happy about being there. Look, he's panting extremely hard, the poor thing." Just as she said that Hagrid, his blurry and lumbering form, opened the door, letting the large dog of sweetness outside so he could cool off. As the door began to swing closed, I slipped in, leaving the other three outside. They didn't notice until it was too late.

It wasn't hard to hide in his large house. Anything was big enough to cover a small eleven year old, especially one who was so used to hiding from people larger than him. It was a good thing too, cause as soon as I ducked behind his armchair, Hagrid turned around with a dark green egg in between a pair of tongs, bright yellow from the heat of the flames.

"You're nearly out!" he whispered to himself gleefully, putting on a pair of worn green oven-mitts. I could hear something tapping against metal, like a woodpecker except much slower and more powerful. The giant crooned as something peaked it's head out, scaly and snake-like. My eyes widened and I couldn't help myself from hissing out:

_"Dragon..."_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, Norberta... I'm tempted to keep Norberta as, well, Norberta or if I should have her be renamed, recast, re...dragonfied? I dunno, what do you think?
> 
> Also, don't hesitate to comment! I still need ideas for who Harry should end up with! If not in a long lasting relationship but at least for the Yule Ball or something.
> 
> :3


	10. Hour 10: Lacerta Agilis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S BEEN FOREVEEEEEER! Oh my god!!!!!!
> 
> Anyways I'm trying my best to get things updated now. I won't put up a schedule or anything on my stories and say which day I'm updating them throughout the week (found out early on that that didn't realy work for me haha) but I will promise to try and update more often.
> 
> Anyways, aside from the lack of update, on to the new chapter that hopefully doesn't suck!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> :)

 

 

Hagrid wiped around faster than I thought possible, large oven mitts on his hands and a surprised look behind his large and bushy beard. At the same time the baby dragon blinked and looked at me as well, it's irises slitting inside gold. It crooned and began to wiggle out of the shell, which seemed to be more fragile than before as it easily broke when it fell over to the side. 

That action startled the Hagrid about as much as my sudden appearance, as he swiveled back around in the same fashion and began to fret over the tiny lizard. It seemed like the baby was high priority at the moment and as the half-giant helped it leave the remainder of it's egg I heard the hut's door squeak open. Hermione and the others shuffled inside and stood besides me.

"Is that...?" Blaise whispered, looking straight at the mothering Hagrid and the dragon.

Neville squeaked and surprise and stiffened on my other side as Hermione began to mutter something under her breath. In all of this the baby dragon barely took it's eyes off of us. 

Once it was out completely, it crooned something more and took a few steps forwards on the table, stretching out it's small leathery wings. As it moved, the light in the hut shined down on it's scales, the spines glittering green and gold as the rest moved from sunburnt orange to a pale green.

"It's a Norweigan Ridgeback!" Hermione finally voiced, louder than the rest of the people in the hut. It startled Hagrid once more who turned back around and seemed to shrink in on himself slightly. He took off his mitts.

"What are you four doin' here?" he asked, stepping closer to the baby. "Yer not supposed to be here!"

"Hagrid," Hermione frowned, placing a hand on her hip while the other pointed at the dragon baby. " _That's_ not supposed to be here! It's illegal to own a dragon! They're magical creatures and basically the equivalent of a wild bear or large cat in the muggle world. At some point it's going to hurt you or, worse, kill you. It's not going to be domesticated!"

The only response she got was from the dragon itself, who crooned and tried to bite one of Hagrid's fingers as they rested defensively on the surface of the table. Hagrid flinched as the sharp teeth grazed his skin and he looked down guiltily and shrunk into his beard. 

"Deep down I know," he murmured, "but I always wanted a dragon. I jus' won 'im the other night, too, though I had hoped he'd have hatched yesterday. He's jus' a late bloomer, s'all..." He sighed. "And he's jus' so cute."

The dragon hissed something out that I could barely recognize and wondered if it was speaking English. There were some muggle books I had read, when I was younger, where some dragons could speak in human tongue, though I had yet to truly see if it was true in the wizard's perspective.

"Hagrid, you live in a wooden house," Blaise said. "He's not going to be so cute when he sneezes and burns your house down." To make his point, the baby sneezed out a small fireball, which ploomed and disappeared in only a few seconds, but that's all was needed to prove his point. Hagrid appeared to be even more depressed at that.

Neville stepped forwards slightly. "Can't we send him to the Romanian Dragon Reserve? We can send a letter saying we found a lot Norwegian Ridgeback egg that also hatched and there's no safe place for it to grow up. Especially since it needs it's mother to survive."

"How would we explain to them how we found a baby dragon on Hogwart's grounds?" Hermione questioned, while at the same time Blaise rose an eyebrow as if he too was questioning Neville's statement. I was just watching the dragon as it explored the tabletop, occasionally glancing back at us as it did. It hissed a few times, sounding like it was trying to speak in human tongue once more before attempting to hop down to the ground.

"The Forbidden Forest has so many creatures that exist that it'll probably be no surprise to find a dragon," Neville explained. "And dragons migrate."

The dragon jumped, and acting on instincts, I dove forwards and grabbed the dragon before it could hurt himself on the floor. He struggled slightly and I winced as his sharp nails dug into my skin but he calmed down and seemed to croon more as he did.

"I don't think dragons are supposed to do this," I said, standing up and wincing as my knee gave a rather loud crack. The dragon crooned in response and shoved his head into my chest, making the already warm hut even warmer as the heat it gave out was transfered into my own skin.

Hagrid seemed to wilt even more as Blaise said, in surprise, "He's imprinted on you as his mother, Harry! That rarely happens to wizards unless they're a Parselmouth!"

"A what now?"

"Someone who can speak to snakes," Neville and Hermione clarified. They glanced at each other and Hermione decided to continue. "The last known speaker was He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, but he wasn't known to have talked with a dragon. But the last one who did that was written was Salazar Slytherin himself."

"So is it some form of English?" I asked, patting the dragon nervously. I did not want to end up being dragon nibbles.

"It's more like a hissing sound," Blaise answered. 

"Hissing?" I questioned again.

They nodded and I thought back to the snake I let loose on Dudley's birthday. I was so sure that that snake had thanked me that day, and now I'm even more positive that what I heard was English coming from the snake. 

Instead of voicing my thoughts I stepped towards my friends, holding the dragon even close as to not drop him. "You want to get-- wait, Hagrid, what were you going to name the dragon once it hatched?"

Hagrid dabbed at his eyes, and I felt a little guilty that Hagrid wouldn't get to have his dream of owning a dragon and that all this bad luck went his way when the dragon ignored him in favor of someone else.

"Norbert."

"Right," I nodded. "Would you like to come with me to go write a letter to this reserve to get Norbert to a better home then a wooden house? I'm sure he would like the company." In all actuality I wanted a large group to hide a baby dragon. It wasn't time for dinner yet, so there would still be plenty of students and teacher milling about and they would obviously catch the sight of a dragon. And I did not plan on losing points for my house.

"I would love to."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little short but I wanted to introduce Norberta before I left for work today and do something that's probably cliche in Harry Potter fics but I tried not to make it too obvious. Yes Harry can understand Norberta but considering it's a dragon and a baby, I figured there would be a slight dialect problem between dragon and snake and baby talk, so it's probably gonna be a little while before Harry and fully understand a dragon.


	11. Hour 11: Lapis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As was requested by JaneoDoe on the last chapter, I added a summary for the story as a whole. It sorta entails what I planned for the story originally so I hope it works. I might change it once I continue with the story. Maybe not, I'm kinda lazy when it comes to summaries since that's the only way I can get it to work haha.
> 
> ALSO!!!! I have come up with an epiphany last night while staying up WAAAAAAAAAAAY too late haha. With all 5 of my non!Gryffindor!Harry fics, I've paired him with who I felt was best for that version. I love so many Harry pairings, that it was so hard to decide to I tried to make it unique with all of them. I think I'll keep them a secret for now (aside for "Do Your Research" since it's already in the tags) so it's a huge surprise! Yay! And since I'm not telling anyone atm, I don't have to set it in dry concrete at the moment, but it's rare for me to change it.
> 
> Whoo, that was a long note....
> 
> ENJOY!
> 
> :)

 

 

There wasn't anything better than feeling the sun on your face after long grueling weeks of preparing for exams and then going through all of them in only a few days, while also having a tearful sendoff with an apparently female baby dragon as the experts picked her up only a few days into the studying. Well, there was the time when Hagrid gave Dudley a tail but that has nothing to do with this. 

This was like  _heaven_.

Hermione was ranting with Blaise about the latest test, History of Magic, and the answers they both gave with Draco gave his two sickles here and there while he read a muggle book Hermione managed to sneak to him sometime after Christmas. Those two were beginning to be a little more friendly towards each other, since Malfoy was beginning to use studying as an excuse to try and get closer to me. In all honesty it seemed more like he was gaining a mutual respect with Granger instead, seeing as how when we were studying for exams it was usually those two getting into a heated debate about something in potions or charms or whatever subject we were studying. I wouldn't call it friendship, possibly more bordering on an understanding of sorts, or even a temporary alliance. I just hoped that they wouldn't get too buddy-buddy and end up doing something worse then friendship: getting along so well that they're like twins.

As for Neville and I, well, I must say we had the best idea. Relaxing in the sun was definitely much better than having to use your brain for unnecessary information.

Well, I would have been relaxing if my scar wasn't hurting like a bitch. 

Scrunching my forheaded with my fingers, I sighed and got up from the most comfortable spot I've been in for a while and put my bag back over my shoulder. This must have caught the other's attention as Hermione stopped rambling about the Werewold Code of Conduct of 1637 mid-debate and Malfoy put a bookmark in his book. Neville nearly sat up as well, though he did open his eyes and furrow his eyebrows in confusion.

"Where are you going, Harry?" Blaise asked, frowning.

"My scar hurts, so I'm going to go inside and get that blasted stone so it could  _fucking stop hurting_!" I growled.

"Harry! Language!" 

"Stone?" Malfoy asked, raising a brow. "I seem to be missing some vital information, Potter."

"Oh you know, the philosopher's stone? Most wanted gem in alchemy? Used to prolong one's life? About this big, yea high and hidden underneath a cerberus on the forbidden third floor corridor?" I replied. 

"You mean the Flamel's actually let Dumbledore have the stone?" he questioned. "I thought that was just a rumor my father overheard during a board meeting."

This time Hermione rose a brow. "I didn't know you knew it was here?"

"I didn't, Granger. Don't you listen? I overheard my father talking to mother about it after a school board meeting over the Yule holidays. He overheard Professor Snape and Headmaster Dumbledore discussing it in passing but thought nothing of it till he got home." Draco turned to me. "What significance does it have being here anyways?"

"Well, I believe Quirrell is a spy for Voldemort and he's going to find the stone and try to bring his Lord back from the dead. If I get it now, I think I can use it as a bribe to get Voldemort to stop making my fucking scar hurt!" I was getting frustrated. How hard is it to understand that?!

"How do you know You-Know-Who is making it hurt? Could be a migraine, for all we know," Draco questioned again. 

"He dealt the curse, how else is it gonna hurt without him?! And besides, if it was a migraine, I'd be experiencing other symptoms than a headache  _directly underneath the scartissue above my eye, **Malfoy**_ ," I growled. "In any case, I'm dropping off my shit and dealing with it. You're welcome to come if you'd like, not like I can stop you or whatever." 

And with that I turned to stomp up the hills and through the corridors until all my things were deposited into my dorms. Deciding that it was better to do whatever I planned to do in comfort, I changed out of my school robes and into a long sleeved red sweater and a pair of flexible pants. Then switching out my shoes for the worn out running shoes I had at the beginning of the year, I left the common room the same way I entered.

I wasn't surprised to see Hermione and Neville waiting at the entrance to the Great Hall, also dressed but looking very winded. I guessed they rushed to wherever their common rooms were to change as well.

"I'm guessing Malfoy and Zabini weren't bothering to come with," I stated.

"On the contrary, my dear friend," Blaise said, appearing just a few feet behind me with a cocky looking Draco besides him. "We were just a few minutes behind you, though it seemed you completely missed us on your way out."

"You've barely been in the wizarding world long enough to duel, Potter, let alone deal with more powerful wizards than yourself," Malfoy continued. "My father would be disappointed in me if I let the Savior kill himself with only a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff at his side. And I'm a brilliant strategist. You might need my expertise."

"What Draco means is that he won't let his friend get killed on Gryffindor behavior," Blaise translated, earning a glare and a kick to the shin by the blond next to him. He just snickered in response as he rubbed his sore leg.

"We're your friends too, Harry," Neville said, looking to be scared out of his mind. "Even if it doesn't seem like it, we'd help you in any way we can."

"Nev's right," Hermione agreed. "We're gonna go with you every step of the way."

I would be lying if I didn't feel a little touched at their speech. I felt like I was in one of Aunt Petunia's novellas that she'd watch on Tuesdays and Thirsdaus every afternoon. Maybe even a cheesy romance flick or a B-rated horror film, if I was to be a bit out there.

"Thanks." If they noticed the slight crack in my voice, my friends didn't point it out. 

 

* * *

 

 

The trip to the third floor corridor was uneventful. We passed students who seemed more focused on getting out of the school rather than staying in and the only interesting thing was seeing Peeves praink a few unsuspecting fifth years on the second floor. Other than that, it was smooth sailing until the five of us made it to the previously locked door that held giant dog on the other side.

"On the count of three," Hermione said, hand griping on her wand. As she begin to count, the rest of us took out our wands, and if any of us were shaking, we were smart enough not to point it out to each other.

"One..." A bead of nervous sweat rolled down Neville's face. "Two..." I swallowed a lump in my throat I didn't know I had. "Three!" And then Draco unlocked the door with a swish of his wand and Blaise had it opened only milliseconds later.

On the other side, the cerberus was snoring away, laying in a patch of sunlight that managed to get through the old stained glass of the rather small room. It wasn't entirely over the door but it definitely had some of it's paw over one side.

"Who's going to lift  _that_?" Malfoy sneered, wrinkling his nose at the snorting pup. "And who's to blame for the bloody dog?"

"Blaise and Neville, you life the paw, since your the strongest of the five of us," I ordered. They both nodded and tip-toed to the beast. "Hermione, you're in charge of unlocking and opening the door. Malfoy, you and I will make sure the dog stays asleep and we get through to the other side okay with little interruptions. Got it?" 

Hermione and Draco nodded and as soon as Nev and Blaise got the paw safely away from the padlocked door, Hermione worked on unlocking it with a charm. It took a couple of tries but the brightest witch of our year managed to do it on the seventh try, letting out a silent victory fist pump as Blaise helped her open it up. Malfoy kept an eye on the door while I watched the cerberus snort, turn over, lick on of it's three noses and continue away with snoozing.

"I'll go down first, since this was my idea," I said. We were circled around the small opening, which looked much more ominous than the first obstacle. "Whoever comes afterwards is up to you." 

I took a deep breath, calming my nerves. "See you on the other side." 

And then I jumped in.

It seemed to take forever to land, but when I did, I felt something damp and slimy underneath me. Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't a snake, but possibly close to it. No scales, I could feel, maybe a plant of some sort. I tightened my grip on my wand. "It's okay!" I called up.

A body landed next to me, sprawled and groaning and I recognized Hermione right away. A few feet in front of me, Neville, then two on my other side, who must have been Malfoy and Zabini.

"What is this stuff?" Blaise asked, wrinkling his nose at the smell.

"A plant, Zabini, or can't you not tell?" Malfoy said sarcastically.

"Devil's Snare," Neville corrected. He seemed to be very calm, compared to the rest of us who's nerves were stuck between being sarcastic and on robot mode.

"We must be miles under the school," Hermione noted. "It's so dark down here too."

I tried to move and sit up but panicked when the vines tightened it's grip on me. I tried to struggle against and it seemed to only get worse. Neville was already gone, whatever he did allowed him to plop down below the strangling plant. Draco and Hermione were next to suddenly disappear, leaving Blaise and I by ourselves.

"How do we get out of this?!" I yelled, frustrated and scared. I did  _not_ want to die from a plant. The only good things to come from it was humiliating Voldemort and that's about all I could think of.

"I think we need to relax," Blaise said. He looked to be hyperventalating himself. "Hey, did I ever tell you I'm claustrophobic?"

"What?! How is that relevant?"

"Well, this one time playing hide and seek with one of my mum's suitors, he locked me in a wardrobe when I hid in there. Wasn't found for over three hours. Mum heard my banging and screams when she tried to find me for lunch. This feels like I'm in there again." He gave a shaky chuckle. "Figured if I brung it up with a friend, it might calm me down a little, even though the situations different."

I would have repsonded with something if I didn't feel something hot underneath my bum and feel through to land on a stone floor, Blaise groaning next to me as he landed on his back. 

"Thanks..." I moaned out, sitting up and rubbing my lower back. Blaise stuck his head between his knees and took some shakey breaths as Neville helped me up.

"No problem," Hermione said, giving a somewhat confident smirk. Malfoy just rolled his eyes.

"She thought about starting a fire until she realized we had wands," he snorted, though with his tone of voice it didn't seem like he was being mean. Almost like he found it to be more endearing funny than mean funny.

"How're you feeling, Blaise?" I asked. I crouched down and patted his back. "Better?"

A deep breath. "Yeah. Thanks."

After that we set out in the only direction we could. 

"What do you think that was?" Malfoy asked, tapping his chin.

"An obstacle, of course," Hermione answered. "It would make sense if each teacher put an obstacle to try and stop an intruder, even just a little, from getting the stone."

"And the snare was the first one, from Professor Sprout," I finished.

We turned a corner and saw dozens of flying keys, making fluttering sounds that reminded me of birds and fallen paper aeroplanes. I would have mistaken them for actual birds if they didn't glint in the dim light that was provided.

"This must be charms, then, from Professor Flitwick," Blaise said. "But whatever are they for?"

I noticed brooms laying off to the side. I grabbed one, handed the other to Malfoy, and we mounted together. "If they're keys they must unlock something, right? Maybe a door to the other obstacle, we just need to know the right one."

"So look for a key that looks like the most used?" Malfoy suggested.

"Exactly."

It took about ten minutes, but we found the key. Both of us dived down towards the one key that had the most bent wings and was slightly larger than the others. It was nearly a tie but I managed to grab it before Malfoy and we jumped and raced to the door where Hermione and the others were standing as we were chased by angry smaller keys. We struggled to get it in, the wings tickling our hands and trying to escape but we managed to unlock the door and slam it shut. The other keys thunded against the wood, a couple sharp enough at such speeds that it nearly went all the way through.

"That was close," Neville sighed. "Now what?"

"Chess, it seems," Draco answered.

I turned around and grimaced at the sight of the large chess board. "I am not gonna be apart of that."

"Of course you aren't, Potter. You're barely on my level," Draco agreed. "I'll be the leader of this game." Draco stepped forwards and directed the rest of us to empty spots on the board.

The game was quick but terrifying. The power that the chess pieces had were intense and sent pieces of stone flying in all directions. A couple of times I felt like I was nicked by a couple of small pieces and I noticed some bleeding scratches on the others.

I was surprsied, though, that by the end all of us made it to the other side. Draco had to sacrafice many of his pawns and a biship, but we made it to the other side, with very little injuries.

"McGonnagal," was all that Hermone said, before she pushed us to the next course.

I was glad we didn't have to do it. The troll on the other side was already knocked out cold, but the smell was incredibly aweful. I could have done with less of that smell in my life. We quickly went past it to the other door, and hopefully the last obstacle.

"Snape," Neville groaned, looking like he wanted to smash his face against the wall. I would have joined him, if I didn't know how important this would have been. 

"What do we have to do?" I asked.

Stepping inside, a fire immediately sprung to life, both from behind us and in front of us. Behind us, the fire was a deep violet, while the one in front was black. In short, we were trapped.

"Look!" Hermione pointed. She ran up to the table that held vials in a row, grabbing a scroll that layed next to them. She read aloud:

 

" _Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,_

_Two of us will help you, which ever you will find,_

_One among us seven will let you move ahead,_

_Another will transport the drinker back instead,_

_Two among our number hold only nettle wine,_

_Three of us are killers, waiting bidden in line._

_Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,_

_To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:_

_First, hoever slyly the poison tries to hide_

_You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;_

_Second, different are those who stand at either end,_

_But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;_

_Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,_

_Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;_

_Fourth, the second left and the second on the right_

_Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight."_

 

I sighed and my head began to hurt even more. This was getting really complicated and annoying. Why go through all this trouble for a silly stone? If I was Voldemort, I would have just gone, "Fuck it, I'll die . At least I'll get to live for about two-hundred years more than if I did dealing with this shit."

"It's a riddle," Malfoy grimaced.

"It's a puzzle," Granger grinned.

"But which do we drink?" Neville questioned. "And do we have enough for all of us?"

"Give me a minute to think this through!" Both Hermione and Draco said, looking deep in thought. Oh great, they're already becoming twins. Great....

"I'm not even gonna try," Blaise said. "I'm not that good with riddles."

"Me neither," I admitted. "Too many obvious choices. Not my kind of thing. I'd rather go around something than have to think of a way to go through it."

It was silent for a few minutes as the two thought over the riddle. Blaise decided to sit on the hard floor and I was about ready to join him when Draco and Hermione pointed to the same bottle, the smallest of them all.

"It's that one," they stated proudly. They smiled at each other for a split second before they realized who they were looking at, before they frowned and turned away.

"Good job on at least getting it right, Granger. I guess not all Muggleborns are average."

"I guess that's the best I'll get from you, Malfoy. So I give the same reguards to you but for Purebloods."

Malfoy sniffed but accepted the half-insult, half-compliment as well. 

"There's only enough for one though," Neville pointed out. "Who's going to go through to the other side?"

"I will, of course," I said. "I was the one that wanted to go here originally so I should go and get it myself. No use in getting you all in danger." The others began to protest but I held up my hand. They stopped, but pouted in doing so.

I spoke again. "I want you to figure out which can go make you go through the other way to get help. Get Snape or Flitwick or something. Someone who we know can possibly help. Don't think getting Dumbledore will work, since he hired the teacher that's helping Voldemort anyways. He may be the greatest wizard of our time, but he's now busy with other stuff. So just get someone else."

"I'll do that one," Blaise said. "Just be careful, okay?"

I nodded and took the vial out of Hermione's hand and drank it. It felt like ice was flooding my body and I shivered. I wished myself and Blaise a goodluck as he took a swig of the other potion and shuddered, and we both ran through our own fires.

Soon I was on the other side and in what seemed to be the last chamber.

 

* * *

 

I wasn't surprised to see Quirrell. I  _was_ surprised to see him here today, though, even if it was coincidence that we chose the same day to take or save the stone.

"Potter, you don't seem all that surprsied," the man noted aloud. "Not even a little gasp?" His stutter was gone and I knew that my suspicions on him were correct.

"A four year old could have figured this out."

"Yet it took you this long to find out what's under here," Quirrell snickered. If he was trying to sound big, bad and evil, it wasn't working. If anything he sounded like a terrible muggle movie villian.

"I had school things to do. Do you really think I'd let my education suffer just to find a stupid stone?"

That seemed to shut the professor up.

"Boy, you listen here. That 'stupid stone' is what's going to bring a change to this world. A change that my lord will accomplish once he's drunk the elixir to extend his life and bring muggles and muggleborns out of existence." The man stormed forwards slightly, and as he did I noticed that he was standing in front of the mirror from the Yule holidays. So this is where it was moved to. 

"Without those muggles and muggleborns your lord wouldn't have a purpose in this world and would have been long forgotten among the other wizards among the ministry," I drawled out, taking on a bored tone to my appearance. On the inside I was filled with anxiety and the need to leave this chamber. My scar was starting to hurt worse than it did when in Defense and I just wanted to hide my head under a blanket for years.

"You don't know that, Potter!" Quirrell pracitcally shrieked out. His turban slipped on his head slightly. "My lord would have risen in the ranks and become minister and would have brought forth a true change to the wizarding world without muggles to populate it. He would have been truly powerful!"

"Look, you came here for the stone, right? What makes you think that it's actually going to help Voldemort in whatever state he's in now?" I asked. The man flinched at his master's name and it seemed to work him up even more. I never knew Professor Quirrell had such a temper.

He seemed to want to say something again but he hesistated as he muttered to himself. Then he grinned and nodded his head and I was tempted to leave him right then and there. There was something weird going on inside his head.

"I have someone you should meet, Potter," Quirrell chuckled and he reached his hands to unravel his messed up turban. The purple fabric fell to his shoulders and in only seconds his bald head was shown to the world.

My eyes widened as I caught the face on the back of his head in the mirror. It moved, moving the skin with it, and it seemed to inhale and exhale and I did not want to know if it shared the same body parts as my professor.

"Harry Potter," it spoke and I knew that I was speaking with Voldemort himself. "See what I have become? Because of you I have become mere shadow and vapor, forced to share a body. Unicorns blood has sustained me this far but with teh Elixir of LIfe, I will be able to create a body of my own." It was looking around as it talked before it focused it's ashy eyes back on me. "Now come closer, boy...."

Qurrell took this time to conjure ropes to wrap around me with his wand and pulled me forwards to stand in view of the mirror. I saw what I saw last time, the same people but this time Draco was there. The other me had his hands in his pockets this time and he pulled on out, his left and my right, showing me the large red stone before winking and putting it back into his pocket. At the same time I felt something heavy drop into mine.

"What do you see?" Quirrell asked, pushing me even closer to the glass.

"I see myself, with only my parents. They're happy to see me," I answered. It wasn't a complete lie, just the only thing I felt like sharing.

"He lies!" the face on the back of his head shrieks. "He has the stone! I know he does! Give me the stone that's in your pocket, Potter!"

I felt the robes around me loosen and I stumbled backwards, trying to get away.

"Never," I growled, and shook the rest of the ropes off of me. I tried patting me pockets, just to make sure the stone was still there, accidentally slipping my hand inside, before making a run for it.

"SEIZE HIM!" The face shrieked again, and I heard Quirrell stumble after me. I thought I'd be faster than the man, having practiced running from Dudley and his friends and being much faster than them, but I misjudged Quirrell's desparation for pleasing his lord, and felt his hand wrap around my wrist, the one where my hand held the stone.

At the same time we called out in pain, mine coming from my scar. I crumpled to the ground, Quirrell doing the same, holding his hand which began to disintegrate. 

Voldemort continued to yell and shriek at his minion, as Quirrell tried again to grab me and bring me closer to try and get the stone from me. I yelled back, through I was more afraid then anyhing, and did my best to push the man away. Wherever I touched him, his skin began to disolve and I pushed my hand to his face, scooting back as my Defense Against the Dark Arts professor shuddered to dust, his dark robes falling to join the remains.

I was exhausted as I let the darkness pull me in, I thought I heard a woman crying my name as a wraith fled the scene. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took the potions scene and riddle from the book itself and some of the quotes in the fight are from the book as well, just reworded some to fit the situation more.
> 
> I hope you liked a longer chapter. I felt you kinda deserved it for waiting for the last one so long haha.


	12. Hour 12: Unum Finem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've finally gotten to the end of First Year. Thank fucking god. The first book is one of my least favourites. Maybe because it's in nearly all fanfiction haha. I think I dislike writing it more than reading it. 
> 
> In any cause once this is done I can skim through year 2 and year 3 and get to a more excitined year 4 since more of the action happens then. But don't worry, I'll be making sure that Sirius and Remus get enough action time :)
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> :)

 

 

I woke up in the hospital wing. I didn't know how long I've been here but I do know that the sun was to bright to handle right now. It glared in my face through the large paned windows and I winced as it shined itself in my eyes.

Blinking, I looked around, wondering who else had made it to the wizard equivalent of a nurses office, but found no one in the beds besides me. Meaning that no one got hurt or sick while I was down...

Right.

The Philosopher's stone. 

Memories rushed back into my head and I set my head back on the pillow as I remembered my friends who had helped me with my stupid decision on getting that stupid stone. Hopefully none of them got hurt while going back and getting some help. Otherwise I wouldn't be here.

Looking back around I noticed a table on my left, filled with cards and candy from whomever. 

"Tokens from your friends and admirers," a voice spoke up. Headmaster Dumbledore came walking from behind a room divider, wearing brightly colored robes and his half moon glasses. "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, natural the whole school knows."

I stayed silent. I was confused as why the headmaster was here in the first place, and a bit angry at the fact that it was his fault for bringing the stone into the school which brought me here when I could have enjoyed the night in my common room and bed. I don't think Dumbledore enjoyed my silence, but he continued anyways.

"You've been here three days. Your friends Miss Granger and Mr. Longbottom will be most relieved you have come around, they have been extremely worried."

 _What about Blaise and Malfoy?_ , I thought to myself, but still kept silent. I could feel the air between us turning awkward, as the Headmaster was the only one talking, but I didn't care. I was still wondering why he was here for me. Is it cause I broke the rules? Or cause I'm the Boy-Who-Lived?

Finally I spoke. "The Stone, sir?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Professor Quirrell did not manage to take it from you. Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick arrived in time to prevent that, although you were doing very well on your own, I heard. Though, you and your friends did lose some points for breaking the rules."

"Is that why you're here, sir?"

He chuckled. "No, no, I assure you."

"And what happened to the Stone?"

"Destroyed. Nicolas and I had a little chat and agreed that destroying it was for the best."

 _Meaning he and his wife would die_ , I thought again, but kept that information to myself. I was getting tired of this question-him-and-he-answers deal that we got into.

Headmaster Dumbledore was there for a little while more, even eating some of the candy that I would have never eaten myself. Candy wasn't really my thing but I would indulge myself every once in a while. Maybe when I'm allowed to leave Hogwarts during the school year, I'll try that candy shope down in that wizard town with some of the older years.

When Dumbledore left, I was finally allowed time by myself before Madam Pomfrey shuffled in, ready to perform some more diagnostics on me. I would be staying here for another night before returning to my common room to finish the school year. 

I heard that Hermione and the others tried to come in but weren't allowed in, despite Blaise's silver tongue. It didn't matter though (despite the fact that I sorta wished they were here, I wanted to see what I had missed while I was down in that final chamber) because I knew I'd see them the next day.

I had been all to ready to leave the medical wing and when I was given the okay I zoomed out of there as fast as possible. I was done being in that bed for another minute. Plus, I had friends to see.

"Harry!" I heard someone call. I turned and saw Hermione and Neville running towards me, and I had little time to brace myself before I had the bushy haired girl squeezing me tightly, Neville joining in seconds later. 

"Hey."

"Don't 'hey' me! I wanted to see you yesterday, make sure you were okay, but Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let me. Told us that Headmaster Dumbledore told her that no one was to see you until you left the hospital wing, to let you rest," she said, releasing me. 

"Us?"

"Yes. Blaise and Malfoy were with us, of course. Who else would have been there?" Hermione asked.

To be honest, I felt a little fluttering in my chest. It made me wonder if this is what feeling of love between friends was like. I felt a little warm, and I wondered if maybe I was getting sick, but I didn't think so. There was a smile that wouldn't leave on my face.

"Thanks. I appreciate you being with me."

"It's about time you thanked us. We had to  _worry_ over you, you know. Do you know what that does to someone? Stress, Potter. Does not let you age well, wizard or not." A new voice joined in and Malfoy and Zabini appeared from around the corner.

"Not unless it's good stress," I retorted. "I heard that I'm supposed to be good, so it's good to stress over me."

"We stressed over your life, Harry," Blaise said, rolling his eyes. "I don't think that's considered good stress."

"I do, cause at least I'm still alive."

"Dork."

"I think you mean dark, but good try."

"Idiot."

I couldn't stop smiling, even though Blaise and I traded insults at each other. Neville was smiling as he watched, looking content, while Hermione huffed with her own grin and Malfoy rolled his eyes.

I told myself I didn't need friends, but I guess these guys aren't so bad. I mean, they did go try and defeat the dark lord with me. 

So I guess they're alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter should be Y2 and maybe even Y3. I'm not sure though, but I'll let ya'll know once it's published haha. Anyways, First Year is over, and I'm done with book 1. Thank god.


End file.
